Wall Street was set to open little changed on Wednesday as investors assessed the impact of a surge in bond yields, while growing doubts about the U.S.-North Korea summit also weighed.
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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REUTERS: Wall Street opened little changed on Wednesday as gains in retail stocks led by Macy’s offset losses in energy and financial shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.91 points, or 0.06 percent, at the open to 24,722.32. The S&P 500 opened higher by 1.17 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,712.62. The Nasdaq Composite gained 4.59 points, or 0.06 percent, to 7,356.22 at the opening bell.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
KRUBONG, Melaka: The father of the late Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) full-time national serviceman Kok Yuen Chin said the last contact he had with his son was a discussion about dinner, more than a month before he died on Sunday (May 13).
Mr Kok Meng Hua, 56, was speaking to Channel NewsAsia on Wednesday, at his son’s wake in the quiet Melaka suburb of Krubong. Mr Kok works six days a week doing construction in Singapore, with Sunday being his only day off.
“What are you doing today? Are you working?” Mr Kok recalled asking his son after knocking off early that day. As a firefighter at Tuas View Fire Station, Yuen Chin worked one 24-hour shift followed by two days off. That day was his day off, he replied.
“Want to have dinner together?” Mr Kok continued, suggesting their usual hawker centre in Bukit Panjang, where Mr Kok lives.
Yuen Chin hesitated. He had a buffet date with his girlfriend. By then he had moved out of his dad’s place to live independently with her in a rented room in Jurong. It was nearer to his Tuas workplace.
Yuen Chin invited his dad along for the buffet, but Mr Kok declined. He’d had a rough day at work, so he wanted a proper meal with rice. Another day then, Mr Kok remembered he said.
Yuen Chin was just a month away from his Operationally Ready Date (ORD) and Mr Kok thought there would be more opportunities to have a dinner with him and discuss the next chapter of his son’s life.
But the next chapter never came. And so that was the last time Mr Kok heard from his son.
On Sunday night, Yuen Chin was found unconscious at the bottom of a 12m pump well at his fire station. Eleven metres of the well had been filled with water. Yuen Chin was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead.
When Mr Kok visited the well to pray and leave offerings, he was shocked by its narrow diameter and sheer depth. “How could he have a chance to survive?” Mr Kok said.
Mr Kok’s younger sister Helen, 55, said the family wants answers. Did anyone jump in the moment they realised Yuen Chin was not coming up?
While investigations into how exactly Yuen Chin ended up in the well are still ongoing, SCDF has said that it was part of activities to celebrate his impending ORD.
For closure, Ms Kok said the family wants to watch CCTV footage of the incident, but she added that it’s unclear if they will be able to. “I just want to know how they tried to save my son,” Mr Kok said.
INDEPENDENT, HELPFUL BOY
Whenever Yuen Chin returned home to Melaka, which was about twice a month, he never hesitated to help around the house. “After dinner he automatically washes the plates, wipes the table and sweeps the floor,” Ms Kok said.
Yuen Chin would take S$600 out of his salary to give to his mother, who lives in Melaka. Then he would take his siblings out to the mall, treating them to movies and ice cream.
The last time he went home was on Malaysia’s polling day on May 9. He didn’t vote, but wanted to accompany his girlfriend who was going to. Mr Kok didn’t go back because he couldn’t take time off work. It was then that Yuen Chin told family members he wanted to work as an auxiliary police officer.
Mr Kok had asked Yuen Chin if he wanted to sign on as a firefighter. He entertained the idea, but said he didn’t have the necessary academic qualifications. When Mr Kok asked Yuen Chin to approach his superiors for a recommendation, he said he didn’t want to trouble them.
This self-reliant attitude is also what made him so endearing, Ms Kok said. “When he had difficulty with his studies, he never told his parents,” she added.
“He loved his mother very much,” Mr Kok said.
THE OTHER CALL
It was about 9.50pm on Sunday when Mr Kok, in an express bus on his way back to Singapore, was first told of the incident.
Every week on Saturday night after work, Mr Kok goes back to Melaka to see his wife. He rides his motorcycle across the border, parks it at Larkin in Johor and takes a bus home. On Sunday night, he does the same, but in the other direction.
“Can you come to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital now?” he was told. “What happened?” he probed. The other person on the line would only say that his son had fainted in a pool.
His heart raced. Mr Kok knew his son hated the water and couldn’t swim. And it would still be hours before he reached Johor, let alone Singapore. Mr Kok called his sister and asked her to go to the hospital. “I asked her to call me when my son regained consciousness,” he said.
He only reached Johor at midnight. There was still no call. He rode his motorcycle with one fist clenched around his phone. “If it rang, I would quickly pull over and answer,” he said. The call never came. “That was when I knew my son was no more.”
Mr Kok at his son’s wake. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)
Mr Kok parked his bike at home and took a taxi to the hospital because he didn’t know where to park. He called his sister. “How is my son now?” he pressed. Ms Kok wouldn’t answer. “Twice I asked and her voice changed,” he said. “I only knew it wasn’t good.”
When the taxi pulled in, Mr Kok said at least three SCDF officers were waiting. They led him into a room, where a doctor told him “we did our best but could not save your son”.
Yuen Chin was in a neck brace and had some cuts on his face, Mr Kok said. “Your papa is here now,” he could only say.
HIS JOURNEY
Like a lot of kids, Yuen Chin grew up playing football with his neighbours on a field just in front of his house. He would also be glued to his phone playing games, Mr Kok said with a smile.
After finishing the equivalent of his polytechnic diploma in Malaysia, Yuen Chin decided to pursue citizenship so he could work in Singapore. Mr Kok had offered to pay for him to further his studies, but he refused.
When he got enlisted into the SCDF, Mr Kok joked that it would be easier than serving in the army. “Even if it’s tough, I’ll still do it,” Yuen Chin said. “I just want to finish the two years.”
Yuen Chin graduated from the Civil Defence Academy as a firefighter and lived with his dad for about a year. During the time they bunked together, they talked about work.
Because the fire station was so remote, Yuen Chin would round up orders from his colleagues and buy back food for them, a job that he said newbies had to do. And because the fire station was so remote, Yuen Chin didn’t have that many cases to attend.
“Where did you go today? Wash oil off the roads?” Mr Kok would joke. Yuen Chin would insist that he still fought fires, at factories in places like Yew Tee.
Mr Kok felt good about Yuen Chin eking out a future in Singapore. “I have always thought of Singapore as a safe place,” he said. “It’s not like overseas, where there might be a lot of trouble.”
Flowers the SCDF left at the wake. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)
When Yuen Chin moved out to live with his girlfriend, Mr Kok gave him more freedom. “I didn’t want to call every day; he was earning an income,” he said. “He had already grown up.”
He said that Yuen Chin and his girlfriend would often come over for dinner.
“I was just happy that he had finished his two years,” he added. “I also thought of asking about his plans after ORD: Are you finding work? Are you coming back to the kampung for a week?
Lorong Mambong and Lorong Liput will be extended and there will be more open, public spaces.
The Pocket Park faces the existing Holland Village and provides green spaces for residents and visitors. (Image: Stirling Land and MKPL Architects)
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SINGAPORE: Stirling Land Holdings has been awarded the tender for a 99-year leasehold land parcel at Holland Road and its future development will add vibrancy to Holland Village, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Wednesday (May 16).
The existing shophouse street block at Holland Village will be part of the proposed development, and more public spaces will be added to “extend the street experience” of the area, URA said.
More retail and dining options are planned and more homes will be provided “in the heart of Holland Village”.
The future development will have three zones and each will be anchored by a public space: Commons Square, which can hold events such as weekend markets and outdoor performances; Communal Green, a courtyard flanked by shops leading to a water court and terraced water feature; and Pocket Park, which will open into Lorong Mambong, a main street in Holland Village.
The planned development complements the low-rise character of the existing Holland Village. (Image: Stirling Land and MKPL Architects)
The public spaces and surrounding areas will be connected by open walkways and two existing roads, Lorong Liput and Lorong Mambong, will be extended.
When the tender closed in March, 15 concept proposals from 10 tenderers were received. Five concepts with strong development concepts and architectural designs appropriate to the site were shortlisted, said URA.
“The tenderers and lead architects for these schemes also have good track records in designing, developing and managing good quality mixed-use developments in Singapore or overseas,” the authority added.
Retail and F&B shops overlook the public plaza, which is suitable for lifestyle events and programmes. (Image: Stirling Land and MKPL Architects)
Among the five, Stirling Land Holdings submitted the highest bid of S$1.21 billion for the 22,967 sq m site which will yield a maximum gross floor area of 59,715 sq m. This works out to $20,318.73 per sq m of the gross floor area.
The estimated number of homes that will be built in the area is 570 units.
The opposition MP reiterated his suggestion for students whose PSLE results put them in the top tier of their primary schools to be granted a place in the secondary schools of their choice.
Member of Parliament Png Eng Huat speaking in Parliament on May 16, 2018.
(Updated: )
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SINGAPORE: Member of Parliament Png Eng Huat on Wednesday (May 16) highlighted the lack of diversity at some local schools as one issue that needs to be addressed while tackling social inequality.
Speaking during the third day of parliamentary debates on the President’s Address, the Workers’ Party MP said this is important, with education being seen as a key enabler of social mobility in Singapore.
While the Ministry of Education has put in place measures, they may be insufficient, he added.
For instance, the promotion of interaction among students of all backgrounds through initiatives such as applied learning seem to have yielded results that are “rather fleeting in nature and confined to small groups of students each time”.
Such interactions that are “rather piecemeal in nature … would not even put a dent to the class divide issue”, he said.
Parents who can afford to enrol their children in expensive tuition and enrichment classes, in the hope of improving their children’s grades, will also continue to do so.
“This will perpetuate the message that if you have the money, your child will stand a better chance of getting good grades. The lack of diversity in our schools will only grow.”
On this note, Mr Png reiterated a suggestion he made in 2016 – for students whose PSLE results put them in the top tier of their primary schools to be granted a place in the secondary schools of their choice.
Describing it as a “fundamental change” to the Secondary 1 posting exercise, he said this will “ensure a good mix and spread of students from all primary schools going into the popular secondary schools”.
This will also introduce diversity into the “so-called elite schools” and prevent elitism.
Mr Png stressed that his proposal is still based on meritocracy “but at the local level”.
“They’ve certainly earned their place in direct admission to a school of their choice by finishing top in their respective primary schools.”
Referring to President Halimah Yacob’s calls for bold changes and inequality to be tackled “vigorously”, Mr Png also asked if the Education Minister would do “something bold in the area of equitable funding” for local schools.
“All schools are created not equal because the funding per school is different to begin with,” he said.
Mr Png reasoned that based on funding per student, popular schools with more students “will always have more funds by default”, while “shrinking neighbourhood schools will always struggle” to fund its extra enrichment programmes.
He said it is also a known fact that popular schools find it easier to raise additional funds from their “well-connected alumni”.
“Does the minister not agree that it makes a world of difference when smaller neighbourhood schools are resourced with the same amount of funding as the popular schools?” Mr Png asked. “Is the minister willing to do something bold in the area of equitable funding for all schools?”
SINGAPORE: Medisave could be used more freely, especially for outpatient treatments, and visits to family doctors could be exempted from GST, Dr Chia Shi-Lu has suggested.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday (May 16) in response to the President’s address, Dr Chia, who is the chairman of the government parliamentary committee for health, proposed these changes to “smoothen some bumps and ripples in our healthcare landscape, to remove some friction where it is not needed, and to promote more equal access to medical services”.
“I propose that we think about liberalising the use of Medisave in a bolder and more decisive manner,” said Dr Chia, who is MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC.
While Dr Chia acknowledged that the introduction and expansion of schemes by the Ministry of Health like the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) and Flexi-Medisave are effective, and allow greater use of Medisave for medical scans, he said they can be complex and at times too restrictive.
“The concern, of course, is that too loose a policy on Medisave withdrawals could lead to earlier depletion of our accounts, leaving nothing for us to rely on in later years when medical needs and expenses could be greater,” he said.
He added that this concern is not necessarily well-founded, as the mean Medisave account balances have been increasing over the years, and a significant number die with remaining balances in the account. He also proposed changes that he said would help those above retirement age.
MORE HELP FOR ELDERLY PAYING BIG AMOUNTS OUT-OF-POCKET
Dr Chia suggested that Singaporeans above the retirement age be allowed to pay for up to 80 per cent of their subsidised outpatient treatment costs at Government clinics through Medisave, regardless of how much the amount comes to, subject to a doctor’s certification.
This is because for some Singaporeans with multiple chronic diseases, or whose illnesses cannot be adequately controlled by medicines on the Standard Medication list, the out of pocket cash outlay for medical treatment, even at a polyclinic and with Pioneer Generation benefits, can be quite high due to the current utilisation limits for Medisave, he said.
This move would not change matters for the majority of elderly patients, for whom the current chronic disease withdrawal limit would adequately cover 80 per cent of their annual outpatient treatment costs, he added.
“But it could make a meaningful difference to the elderly with multiple or less common conditions requiring more specialised and expensive medications, or who require more medical investigations to better manage their conditions,” he said.
Presently, a patient who has exceeded his Medisave claims limit and who finds it challenging to pay the remainder in cash, can appeal to the Ministry to withdraw more from his Medisave, apply to welfare schemes, or simply choose to forego treatment in excess of what he is willing to pay for in cash.
Allowing for greater Medisave withdrawal in these cases can help a patient avoid trying the welfare route, which ultimately adds to public expenditure, and encourage compliance with treatment, Dr Chia said.
MP Chia Shi-Lu in Parliament
“I am of the opinion that such further loosening of the Medisave purse strings would not lead to over-servicing or over-consumption,” he added, pointing to how the introduction of a Pioneer Generation package with generous benefits in 2015 has not led to worrying levels of over-consumption or over-servicing within the public healthcare system thus far.
When it came to GST exemption for primary medical services, Dr Chia said that while philosophically this is a slippery slope, in practical terms it would be “in keeping with the intent of current policy that already absorbs GST from subsidised healthcare services”.
“Removing this consumption tax from all primary healthcare services could nudge more patients back to their family doctors for care and encourage compliance with treatment and follow-up, by reducing costs,” he said.
Dr Chia, who is a senior consultant in Singapore General Hospital’s department of orthopaedic surgery, stressed that his suggestion referred only to primary care services, which can be defined and licensed, and not for hospital or other types of medical care.
INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CONDITIONS RELATED TO PREGNANCY AND MENTAL HEALTH
Dr Chia also suggested that gaps in MediShield Life, introduced to provide universal health insurance, should be plugged.
Presently, pregnancy-related complications, and conditions related to mental health, are not covered under the scheme when hospitalisation is required.
“I believe that we should consider expanding coverage to these conditions as well. We have been strongly encouraging parenthood, and it would serve as greater assurance to would-be parents that the mother’s medical care can be covered in the uncommon instances of complications related to the pregnancy,” he said.
SINGAPORE: Internet service provider MyRepublic has branched out into mobile services, rewarding existing customers and those who backed its bid to be Singapore’s fourth telco with two mobile plans that promise no bill shock.
The company told Channel NewsAsia on Wednesday (May 16) it has started sending email to current fibre broadband subscribers and those who supported its mobility bid – referred to as “Friends of MyRepublic” – to inform them of two no-contract, SIM-only mobile plans.
They are: Uno, a 1GB mobile data plan at S$8 per month, and Ultimate, an 80GB mobile data plan at S$80 a month.
(Image: MyRepublic)
Both plans come bundled with 1,000 minutes talk time and 1,000 SMS, but the feature that stands out is something called “Boundless Data” – a feature that ensures users will not be charged for exceeding their data limit. Instead, MyRepublic said it will reduce the speed of the mobile data though it promises “you’ll still be able to surf the Web, make calls, send messages, even stream music”.
Additionally, its mobile subscribers can also add monthly recurring or one-time “data boosters” to increase capacity. The recurring add-ons cost from S$5 per month for 1GB, or from S$3.50 for a 500MB one-time boost.
(Image: MyRepublic)
The two plans, however, are limited to those mentioned above and they will need to unlock MyRepublic’s mobile website with a code included in the email. “We’ve sent each of them five codes to share with their friends and family,” the company said, adding the codes should all be sent out “by the end of the week”.
Asked if these mobile plans will be available to the wider public later, company spokesperson Fabian Lau said it has “no plans to make them available to the public at this time”. He was also not able to share how many are eligible for the mobile plans.
Users who sign up for the plans will have a SIM card couriered to them, after which they can get started. The earliest anyone can get on its mobile network is May 21, Mr Lau told Channel NewsAsia.
Those who want to port their existing phone numbers are able to do so, but the spokesman said they need to make sure they are not bound by contract with other telcos or they may be liable for early termination fees.
As for the commercial launch of MyRepublic’s mobile services, Mr Lau only said it will be “soon”.
The company said it will be launching more plans then, but cannot share details on these just yet, except “to say that we’re committed to providing our customers a worry-free mobile experience no matter what MyRepublic Mobile plan they are on”.
As for handset bundle plans, its website said: “That’s definitely something we plan to do, although we can’t provide any further details on those plans right now.”
Vice president for Product Management Guy Rosen says it intends to engage with civil society organisations like the Media Literacy Council, AWARE and Maruah to see if they would like to participate.
Mr Guy Rosen, vice president of Product Management at Facebook, was in Singapore to share about its preliminary report for enforcing community standards. (Photo: Facebook)
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SINGAPORE: Facebook intends to hold a series of public engagements this year to get people’s feedback on its community standards, and Singapore will hold one of these “this year”, according to one of its executives.
Mr Guy Rosen, vice president for Product Management at the social networking company, told Channel NewsAsia in an interview on Tuesday (May 15) that Singapore and India will be the two sites in the region to hold the Facebook Forums: Community Standards event. It intends to engage with civil society players like the Media Literacy Council, Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) and Maruah to see if they would be interested in participating, he added.
Their input is needed to help Facebook better “understand the local context” and setting in different markets, the executive explained.
The public forums were announced last month, the same time when Facebook released its internal guidelines for enforcing community standards as well as announcing it will give users the right to appeal decisions if the social network decides to remove photos, videos or written posts deemed to violate community standards.
In it, Ms Monika Bickert, vice president of Global Policy Management, said efforts to improve and refine these standards depend on participation and input from people around the world, and named countries like Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States as other countries it intends to hold these forums in.
As part of its efforts to address this issue, Facebook released for the first time its preliminary report for enforcing community standards on Tuesday, which highlighted the work it is doing around six violations: Graphic violence, adult nudity and sexual activity, terrorism propaganda, hate speech, spam and fake accounts.
An example of a Facebook post that could have been incorrectly removed and can now be appealed. (Image: Facebook)
TOOLS FOR SELF-POLICING ON FACEBOOK?
It is also stated earlier it is committed to double the capacity of its review team from 10,000 to 20,000 so as to work on cases where human expertise is needed to understand the context or nuance, such as hate speech.
Mr Rosen shared that while there are no review teams based in Singapore, there are people from the content policy team that are based here and are involved in work looking at child exploitation for instance.
Asked if there is a need for a dedicated review team based here to understand local languages such as Singlish, the executive said there are no plans to do so but there are already reviewers within the team capable of understanding these languages.
He added that spreading review teams far and wide – “with a one- or two-men team in a far-flung outpost” – tends to increase enforcement errors. Instead, Facebook’s approach is to have bigger groups residing in “centres of excellence” in order to review the content on its platform, he explained.
On the issue of giving users more tools to police themselves on the platform, such as allowing users to decide turning on the masking screen to indicate graphic violence or nudity, Mr Rosen did not rule out that possibility and said he sees the value of these in certain circumstances.
But these tools “have not been built yet”, he added.
Officers have been detained for more than a month in the SCDF’s detention barracks for ragging.
Tuas View fire station, where Corporal Kok Yuen Chin was found unconscious at the bottom of a pump well. (Photo: Nevin Jacob)
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SINGAPORE: The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it has meted out “deterrent” punishments like detention for ragging activities, as it acknowledged the existence of such activities in the force.
“SCDF adopts a zero-tolerance policy against unauthorised activities such as ‘ragging’, and continually reinforces the deterrent measures against such activities,” it said.
SCDF’s statement follows a Channel NewsAsia report that shed light on the different ragging activities that SCDF servicemen engage in to mark milestones like reaching their operationally ready date (ORD) or retirement.
On May 13, SCDF full-time national serviceman Kok Yuen Chin died after he was found unconscious at the bottom of a 12m-deep fire station pump well. He had gone into the well as part of activities to celebrate his impending ORD.
The SCDF highlighted five cases of unauthorised activities from May 2010 to August 2015 that led to the detention of officers in the SCDF Detention Barracks.
Channel NewsAsia has contacted SCDF regarding the total number of reported cases over the years.
In the May 2010 case, SCDF said it punished seven officers with detention ranging from 15 to 23 days after two new officers were coerced to undergo an initiation session at their fire station’s pump well.
“They entered the well, and one of them later reported the incident to the SCDF,” it added.
In the most recent highlighted case in August 2015, four officers were each punished with 10 days of detention for spraying white paint onto a new officer’s chest, thighs and back as part of an initiation ritual.
The other cases involve using a dirty mop to rub and hit new officers’ heads and bodies, and applying toothpaste on graduating officers who were asleep, SCDF added.
Officers have been served detention of between three and 40 days in the examples highlighted.
SCDF said officers are allowed to report wrongful practices to their immediate supervisors, unit commander, director, commissioner and the Ministry of Home Affairs under a whistleblowing programme.
“Briefings on anti-ragging awareness are conducted for all personnel upon joining the SCDF, upon their postings to units, and at periodic intervals,” it added.
“Anti-ragging materials such as videos and posters are produced and disseminated to increase officers’ awareness of SCDF’s zero-tolerance policy against ragging.”
For NSF who break the rules, SCDF said their errant behaviour will be recorded in their Certificate of Service.
“Officers who carry out ragging activities will be liable for prosecution if there is criminal wrongdoing,” it added.
SINGAPORE: There’s always so much happening in the local halal food scene, especially during Ramadan. With the fasting month being one of the busiest times of the year for Muslims, it’s probably impossible to have a go at everything – but we’ll certainly give it our best shot. Here are 10 of the newest and most notable menu options worth planning an iftar date for.
MAKI-SAN
Try: A-Yum Rendang, S$9.90
Or would you prefer rendang in sushi? (Photo: Maki-San)
Putting their own spin on the beloved Hari Raya dish is local halal sushi chain Maki-San with its chicken rendang maki. Available for two months starting today (May 15), the seaweed-wrapped roll contains white rice, peanut anchovies, cucumber, boiled egg, coconut flakes, a “shiok” sambal and, of course, the rendang.
One not enough? Order the spicy platter (S$42 during fasting month), which has five makis (choose Maki Lemak, A-Yum Rendang or both). The good folks at Maki-San are also shaving 20 per cent off the total bill for all diners who eat in from 6pm to 7.10pm. Delivery available.
Are you ready for rendang in a burger? (Photo: FatPapas)
Halal burger and milkshake joint FatPapas is on a roll having opened two new outlets this year – one at Waterway Point and the other at the Publika mall in Kuala Lumpur.
For Ramadan, owners Bernie Tay and Sheikh Haikel are serving up what sounds like a showstopper – the Rendang-A-Dang-Dang burger. It’s got a grilled beef patty smothered with homemade rendang sauce, some pineapple salsa and a fried egg – all sandwiched between two honey oat buns.
In true Ramadan spirit, there’ll also be a sharing option (S$55 a platter) that includes the burger, Haikel’s favourite country fried steak, beef ribs and chicken boners (those are wings, by the way) – now available with salted egg sauce.
Try: Chick Kut Teh and Ayam Woku Belanga. Buffet starts at S$20++ for children and S$35++ for adults
The Ayam Woku Belanga at Bay Hotel’s halal-certified Indonesian restaurant. (Photo: Rumah Rasa)
Indonesian food lovers, this is for you. New this Ramadan is Rumah Rasa’s executive chef Esa’s Ayam Woku Belanga, a signature Manado spicy chicken dish; and Bebek Cabai Ijo, braised duck with homemade green chilli sauce.
For those of you looking to try “halal bak kut teh”, Bay Hotel’s halal-certified restaurant is also doing a Chick Kut Teh featuring broth cooked overnight, tau pok, mushrooms and garlic.
Halal Thai restaurant Blue Jasmine will have a new buffet menu every week of Ramadan. (Photo: Blue Jasmine)
If you’re craving Thai flavours or just want to leave the rendang to Hari Raya, check out halal Thai restaurant Blue Jasmine, which is doing a different menu every week from May 17 to June 13.
Kicking off the fasting month is Seafood Night, which features a lobster version of northern Thai curry noodle khao soi, plus grilled seafood like crayfish, prawns and sea bass. Then, there’s Curry Night, which gets you batang fish curry; and Grill and Roast Night, with duck, lamb, ribeye and Thai chicken satay.
Finally, Herbs and Spices Night brings forth tom kar gai (chicken coconut soup), eggplant green curry, and deep-fried sea bass with lemongrass and peanuts.
Try: Satay chicken burger and chicken laksa soba, S$13.50 each
Lean Bento’s new Ramadan dishes, the chicken laksa soba (left) and satay chicken burger, going at S$13.50 each. (Photos: Lean Bento)
Want to have something festive but without the post-santan guilt? You can, from May 15 to June 14, with Lean Bento’s chicken laksa soba and satay chicken burger.
The former is a low-carb, gluten-free alternative to the usual sinful laksa, paired with smoked honey chicken, sauteed mushrooms and steamed corn, while the burger comprises sesame buns and a smoked satay chicken patty with crunchy seaweed and an egg fried sunny side up. The burger also gets a side of air-fried sweet potato tots, mesclun salad and miso sauce. Delivery available.
Hjh Maimunah’s barbecue platter for Ramadan. (Photo: Hjh Maimunah)
If you’re going to break your fast with rich food, you might as well do it at Hjh Maimunah. After all, it wasn’t one of the first halal restaurants to be featured in the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list for nothing.
This year, the uber-popular barbecue platter makes a comeback with chicken wings, stingray, sotong, prawns, and of course, siput sedut (sea snail with gulai lemak). The platter comes with rice for four people, an ulam salad and three types of dipping sauce.
Cheese-baked lobster features in Penang Culture’s Ramadan menu this year. (Photo: Penang Culture)
The original sharing platter, nasi ambeng, gets a luxe twist at restaurant chain Penang Culture this Ramadan. The lobster nasi ambeng for two features cheese-baked lobster, ayam masak merah, mutton rendang, french beans with tempeh, sambal egg, serunding (coconut floss), achar, assam curry and crackers. The classic nasi ambeng sans lobster is also available at S$29.80. Delivery available.
Try: Iftar pop-up buffet with a view, from S$34++ per child and S$68++ per adult
Iftar with a view, anyone? The hotel’s halal-certified rooftop restaurant opens May 16. (Photo: Hilton Singapore)
Back by popular demand, the MUIS halal-certified pop-up rooftop restaurant at Level 24, Hilton Singapore returns this Ramadan from May 16 to June 14. On top of last year’s greatest hits like the roast beef sirloin, roasted whole baby lamb, ayam masak merah, ikan masak asam pedas and udang balado, there’ll also be a Burger Ramly live station, as well as another station churning out ice cream in flavours like bandung, gula melaka and teh tarik.
581 Orchard Road. For reservations, email sinhi.f&b@hilton.com or call +65 6737 2233.
IKEA
Try: Chicken briyani or ayam masak merah set, S$5
Ikea’s chicken briyani set exclusive to Ramadan 2018. (Photo: Ikea)
Have you lost track of time while shopping for new furniture and decor items for Hari Raya? Pop by IKEA’s restaurant when you’re done and break fast with the chicken briyani set at the Alexandra outlet.
If you’re closer to their Tampines outlet, which has a halal line, they’re doing something different each week – ayam masak merah (May 16 to 20), satay chicken (May 21 to 27), masala chicken (May 28 to June 3) and nasi kunyit (June 4 to 10).
Badoque is offering a free spread of dates, fruit, samosas and mini cheesecakes this Ramadan. (Photo: Badoque)
The popular Simpang Bedok cafe has been known to offer free dates or kurma, as well as bubur lambuk, to diners during the fasting month. But this year, customers can enjoy a whole spread of nibbles, including samosas, fruit and mini cheesecakes, free. Badoque’s Ramadan hours are from 6pm to 10pm, but the iftar spread is available on a first-come-first-served, while-stock-lasts basis.
